Food Festival and more...

Dear Slow Fooders

This is an update on the planned events for May and June.

As many of you may be aware Donna Le Marrec and John Garton have organized the Jersey Food Festival from 14 to 22 May.  This looks like a fantastic week with many events that embrace so much of what we believe in.

Lots of trips to visit various sites and some delicious food to be sampled. Taste the passion.

Please visit the website for full details:

www.jersey.com/foodfestival

In June we have 2 events planned:

A visit to Fungi Delecti for a tour by Jamie Racjan (visit www.fungidelecti.com ). 

Fungi Delecti has become known as the best wholesaler of quality produce on the island.  They supply all the top restaurants and hotels, sourcing produce from all over the world.  They also grow Shii-Take mushrooms and many fresh salads and herbs, as well as producing the tastiest eggs on the island.

To avoid having too many people to enjoy this visit Jamie is happy for us to split into 2 visits – Thursday 9^th and Thursday 16^th June at 6.30pm. 

If you would like to come then please let us know which date you would prefer and then we can try to ensure even numbers over the 2 evenings.  Fungi Delecti is at Les Platons in Trinity.  By visiting in mid-June the fresh produce should be at its peak.

There is no charge for this event but please inform us if you are coming.

An evening with Cyrus Todiwala  - Indian Chef extraordinaire

Monday 20^th June – Highlands College – 7.30pm to 9.30pm

This is planned as the highlight/show piece of our Slow Food year.  Cyrus is a renowned Indian chef and he is coming specially to Jersey for this Slow Food event.  Cyrus is passionate about local food and so he will be sourcing local produce for his demonstration, and will be taking us on a tour of Indian spices.  (This is purely a demonstration and so no food will be served, but there will be small tastings).

This is for Slow Food members only. There will be a charge for this event to contribute to costs – more details to follow (we haven’t done our sums yet!).  Numbers will be limited. 

We would be grateful if you could email us to let us know if you are interested in either of these events as soon as you can. 

Please do try to attend some of the Food Festival events.

See you all soon.

The Slow Food Committee

"Best before Dates"

A debate is brewing on the whole issue of "Best Before Dates". Mainly championed by  anti-waste campaigners who suggest that this poor labelling is responsible for large amounts of wasted edible food.

The BBC offers an insight on all this.

Worth taking a look at.

Pot Luck Night - 14th April

We're off again!

Unfortunately Emma, our resident chef, is under pressure so we have had to postpone the Cake making demo but we have a great alternative...a Potluck night!

Donna Le Marrec is going to talk to us about the Food Festival she has organised for May.

If you are not sure what happens at a Pot Luck event then this article gives a taste. /http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/pot-luck/ 


Slow Food is not just about spreading the message but cooking, eating and sharing food. 

Local and seasonal if possible, one dish per person is fine.

So on the 14th April - 7.00pm - 10.00pm we are meeting at Les Creux Scout Hut. (We'll provide directions nearer the date.)

Easy to find and ample parking. We'll provide some wine, soft drinks, plates and cutlery.

Cook anything you want and bring it along. It doesn't matter whether it's sweet or savoury if the Pie Night is anything to go by it'll all get eaten.

Here's the chance for those that missed out last time and want to show off their skills.

There is a kitchen so we can heat food up and wash up...

The idea is to keep the flavour of what we did last time but take the competition out of it.

Spread the word it's completely free.

If you have any questions then please call Rod Bryans on 07797721559.

New website...

Check out this lovely site. Slow Food is keen to promote the notion of reducing the distance from field to plate this website takes a step closer in illustrating how to grow your own veg...

www.seedtoplate.co.uk provides great information on how to make it all possible. A seasonal calendar, growing tips, videos and recipes.

Worth a look.

Breaking News...

People love Pies!

Beef and Liberation Ale Pie

And the winner is.... this beautiful Beef and Liberation Ale pie (see the initials) from Alison Vautier. This was just one of a fine pair of pies from Alison and Steve.
It not only came top but was the winner of Liberation Groups extra prize for the best pie incorporating Liberation Ale.
Her Rhubarb and Ginger Pie came a respectable joint 3rd. A winning combination and a winning couple.

2nd Prize Balderson's unctious Pork Pie!

 Over 40 pie makers and pie tasters herded themselves into the St Mary's Pub. 14 pies were presented for the competition.

We wanted pies made with locally sourced ingredients, home cooked by skilled cooks and that is exactly what we got. The labours of love got the most points. Handmade pastry, hand reared pork or beef. Home grown rhubarb and a few emotional moments as family recipes were exposed to the discerning taste buds of Slow Food members.

Amazing choice and flavours...

Little left...

 

Ben tastes the winner...

French Apple Tart

Making notes

The points are totalled

Chairman Julia Quenault presents the 
Slow Food Trophy toAlison Vautier

The Great Pie Challenge...

Hello Everyone,

Just an update to let you know how many tasters and bakers we have confirmed for the upcoming pie event. 

 

So far we have 37 tasters bringing 14 pies. 

 

Only half have confirmed what type of pies they're bringing but that gives us a good indication that the vast majority will be savoury.

Ben, Rod and I will come up with scoring sheets, making them similar to the ones we used for sausage tasting but using the ideas Emma C sent earlier in the week. 

 

We will also organise getting these printed.

Have a good weekend.

Kathryn

The Great Pie Challenge..

OK it's not that I'm competitive...I just love pies...

 Tuesday the 8th March...7.00pm at St Marys Pub an open competition for Pie aficionados... 
Test Steak Pie *1

• 1lb Stewing Steak - Lidsters in the Central Market
• Bottle of Liberation Ale
• Carrots, Celery, Onion,Thyme,
• Store bought Puff Pastry.
• Seasoning- Salt,Black pepper and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

I marinaded the steak over night, with shards of carrot, trimmings of celery, onion and a sprig of thyme.

I sieved out the marinade discarding the veg. Sauteed the diced onion, followed by carrot and celery. Floured meat was then browned and the veg added back along with the marinade and beef stock. Then into the oven on a low heat for 4 hours.

After blind cooking a pastry bottom I filled with stew and added the lid. 30 mins later ...voila.

Verdict ...lovely but not a prize winner. Back to the cookbooks...see you there!

Highlands in 2011

Highlands was such a success for our AGM meal, the food was fantastic, we wanted to promote it again to give people the opportunity to book in advance.

In particular as we are such a romantic bunch you might want to consider Valentines night for something a little different...its not on the actual night but it maybe the something special you were looking for...

Anyone wishing to make a booking please call Joan on 608563 (between 9.00am and 1.00pm)

Tuesday 18th January – Healthy Eating Lunch
Wednesday 19th January – Big Breakfast

Monday and Tuesday 24th/25th January – Burns Night – this is run by our Culinary Skills students who attend an evening course

Thursday 27th January    – An evening working with Chefs from Bohemia Restaurant
Wednesday 9th February – Afternoon tea
Tuesday 15th February    – Valentines Lunch
Thursday 17th February  – Valentines Dinner

WEEK COMMENCING 21ST FEBRUARY – HALF TERM

Thursday 3rd March   – Restaurant closed for private function

Thursday 10th March – Italian night
Thursday 17th March – St Patricks Night Dinner

Thursday 24th March – Restaurant closed for private function

Thursday 31st March – An evening working with Chefs from Atlantic Hotel

WEEKS COMMENCING 11TH, 18TH AND 25TH APRIL – RESTAURANT CLOSED FOR EASTER BREAK

Thursday 5th May – Last Dinner production
Tuesday 10th May – last Tuesday lunch production
Wednesday 11th May – last Wednesday production

Thought for the month...

"If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry."

New Year Promises

I was considering what to write to kick off 2011 and thought I should revisit why I joined Slow Food a few years back.

There was a Slow Food conference set up by Alasdair Crosby at Haute Vallee School. I was intrigued by the range of information offered there and decided to Google everything I'd made notes about. That led me to Michael Pollan.

If you ever need a single source of inspiration to realise the situation we find ourselves in when it comes to understanding food then Michael Pollan is your man. He is currently compiling a new book of homespun wisdom provided by readers to a New York Times article.

His book "In Defence of Food" provided me with the simple idea of "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." His twenty rules are sound examples of good advice. One of the best was"don't eat food your grandmother wouldn't recognise."

His investigations in to our eating habits and the science behind the food constructed for us really opened my eyes to what lies we are being pedalled and how much junk food surrounds the needs we have created. The choices of what we eat and how we cook it are ours.

Jersey has some of the best produce in the world promoted by some of the best chefs. Cultivate in the fields or found in the cold waters surrounding us. Reducing the distance from field to plate provides not just the freshest and nutritionally sound food available food but ensures we keep local producers employed. So by applying the common sense principle of buying local we realise the ambitions of both Slow Food and Fair Trade in one simple act.

Our small but growing band of Jersey Slow Food enthusiasts are trying to spread the message of "Good, clean and fair" and get as many people interested in promoting and eating good food. Cooking and eating are implicitly on our agenda for this year and we hope to see you at as many events as you can get along to.

We are also open to any suggestions for the kind of events you would like to see as this convivium is driven by its members. We would love to hear from you.

As for my New Year resolutions - eat as little processed food and adopt the simple idea of "eating less and moving more"... Happy New Year.